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Cents and Sensibility

BY GUY STEELE

Financial planning help
can level playing field
for women

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Today's women have money and influence. More than 60 percent of American women are employed outside of the home, earning a collective $1 trillion annually, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women owned businesses now number 9.1 million, employ more than 15 million workers and generate nearly $1.4 trillion in sales.

But women with high-powered careers and wealth should not be the only ones to concern themselves with investing. Don't drop the ball when it comes to planning for your financial future while juggling day-to-day career demands with one hand and family obligations with the other.

Based on the realities of today, it's vital that women realize the importance of having their own financial goals. Take these startling facts for example:

>> Only 49 percent of working women have pensions, according to the Social Security Administration.

>> Almost 70 percent of the elderly poor are women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But women can take action now to develop an investment plan. The following steps can help you form a retirement plan that combines Social Security, a company retirement plan and personal savings:

>> Learn about investments through seminars, books, magazines, investment clubs or an investment professional.

>> Invest systematically. The best way to save is to establish an automatic investment each month.

Mutual fund gains

Mutual fund capital gains season is right around the corner. If mutual funds are a part of your portfolio, having an appropriate plan may help minimize the potential tax consequences of a capital gains distribution.

The funds you own could realize significant capital gains even though their performance might be modest relative to recent years. In 1987, investors faced a similar situation that they do today: Funds were down, but they went on to a strong performance over this past decade.

If you have investments that posted a loss this year, you could possibly use the loss to offset capital gains on your mutual funds.

A little tax management today may help reduce the potential impact of capital gains in November or December.

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Guy Steele is a financial planner and head
of the Pali Palms office of Edward Jones. Send
planning and investing questions to him at 970
N. Kalaheo Ave., Suite C-210, Kailua, HI, 96734,
or by email at: gsteele2@pixi.com